Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-05-03
CITY TRUSTEES.
The Clerk of the Water-Works' shortage
The Poundmaster's Troubles.

The Board of Trustees met IN regular
session yesterday morning, all the men,
bers present.
After the reading of the minutes Auditor
Mckee said he had assisted in counting the
receipts in the Water Collectors office.
During Stafford's incumbency as Water
rate Collector he had received from the
Auditor $74, 454 worth of receipts. He had
been credited with cash turned over to the
City Treasurer $30,S79 70, which would
leave balance of S43.574 % which should
be in his hands. They found in the Col
lector's Office receipts amounting TO S43, 246
and $3.50 % cash, making total OF S43,
$50 %, showing a shortage of S3S. The
tap account was also found 50 short, max
ing total deficit of SAT.
WHAT TRUSTEE JONES SAYS.
Trustee Jones, Superintendent of the
Water Works, said he was the last man to
find fault or accuse any one of theft. He
never prosecuted any one, and believed II
be was anything he was forgiving spirit.
His suspicious were aroused months ago.
He did not suspect the Water Collector s
stealing until a few days ago. He ascer-
tanned the number of water takers in the
city, and, taking an average of the rates
charged, very low estimate would make
the receipts $4,000 or $4,000 per annum.
When he saw that only $4,000 was turned
in for last years collections, he was forced
to believe there was some crookedness or
else the Collector was not doing his duty.
The Collector was spoken to both by the
Auditor and Trustee Jones, who asked
him to explain if be could this apparent
So, 900 or $l5, 900 deficit, but could get no
SatiSfactorv ayr,1apafion
Jones, continuing, said: ~. J. Bauer,
Assistant Collector, called my attention to
certain discrepancies not long since, and
we began looking the books over to see if
we could discover what was the matter.
While we were thus engaged Stafford
came in. He said nothing to me, but |
overheard him, rather angrily, say to
Bauer, Why do you show the books to
Trustee Jones?' Bauer replied, Well, if
he is not to know how the affairs of this
Office is conducted, who tsp While look
ing through his books l found number of
OLD RECEIPTS SLOWED AWAY.
| took the numbers of the receipts and also
noted the fact that they were two and three
years old, and had been sold once to Chi
pese washmen. l put the receipts back in
the order | found them, and concluded to
await developments. On subsequent
visit, the old receipts had all disappeared.
When Stafford came in l asked him for
them. After denying having them, he
finally threw down nineteen of them, tax
ing them from his pocket | picked them
up compared them with my notes, and
then demanded two more. | wanted to
know where the missing ones were.
gave him their number. date and amount,
and told him TO produce them. He said,
{ I hu 10
morning, and the very disagreeable CONVEX
sation was dropped. The next day he
handed me the two missing receipts, and
here they are. This is the key note to the
whole rascality of his office. Here he had
old receipts that have been once sold, the
stubs of which were long since destroyed,
and all money collected on such receipts
has been
STOLEN FROM THE CITY.
All we expect from an honest Collector is
that he will return the cash for receipts
issued to him. How long this has been
going on, how many Chinese wash houses
and other unsuspecting persons have been
paying water rates and receiving worthless
receipts will probably never be known.
These two receipts he returned. you can
see, he has attempted to erase ..the names
of the parties to whom they were first
issued, and has written his name and the
name of his deputy, w. F. Sheehan,
thereon. This is clear case. Those re-
ceipts were written in 1885, with a blue
ceipt is filled out with black pencil to
Yen Hop. Stafford would make US be-
lieve that this is not piece of rascality,
but rathera species of incompetency upon
his part. Every week be had to take an
oath that he collected so muchmoney. We
know he collected 81 ,423 80 during the
week ending April Sth. He makes sworn
statement that his total collected was
81 1858. What became of that $40 so? For
the week ending April 18th he collected
81 ,347 %. He swore he only collected
S1.2l3 rs, showing peculation of $133 so.
The following week he did not hit us quite
so hard, only. getting away with $S1. Here
we have him for three weeks Systematically
taken funds of the city aggregating $3.50,
and we don't know how much more"
Trustee Ryan-He has made that deficit
of $3.50 good, has he not?-.
Trustee Jones-Yes; but is that all
We have unearthed systematic robbery
day by day. and We know not to what ex-
tent the city has suffered. We could not
get whole weeks collections by days ex-
cept in one single instance. Stafford says
that everything is all right, and if there is
anything wrong it is simply clerical errors
Trustee Jones then handed communi-
cation to the Mayor, who read it as follows
SACRAMENTO, April 50. 1887.
To The Trustees Of the City Of Sacramento: l
herewith tender my resignation as Clerk of the
Water Works, to take effect Immediately.
]. I. STAFFORD.
Mayor Gregory said he was of the opinion
that there should be no hurry in accepting
this resignation. 1t might in some way
compromise the bond. His motion to lay
upon the table was adopted.
The RECORD UNION was aware of this
shortage two weeks ago, but in Difference
to the request OF Mayor Gregory, remained
silent upon the matter. pending inyestiga-
toni
THE PoUNDMAsTER TROUBLES.
To be successful Poundmaster and "get
away with it, would certainly emit
tie any man to the highest polit-
ical consideration. His position is
one that is trying in the extreme,
and the emoluments gathered from the
poor man who fails to tag his dog, or the
poor woman who fails to herd Ler cow, or
the boy who ties his billy goat loose, would
never make man rich. Philip Rumble is
Poundmaster, and he finds his path not
strewn with roses, but indignant men and
women who object to his taking to the
pound their kline which they have tethered
upon the public streets. He gets away
with the cattle sometimes, but on other oc
casions a man and his wife and a big
butcher-knife succeed in cheating him of
anticipated fees. Yesterday two ladies and
two gentlemen from the eastern portion of
the city made a complaint to the Board of
Trustees that the Poundmaster was OPP
pressive and partial. that he was despotic.
and, in fact, mo good any way They
all talked at once, and completely drowned
the officials attempt at reply. They said
he was partial to Irish COWS, and all of that
class were allowed to
ROAM AT THEIR OWN SWEET WILL,
But Dutch cow was taken in on every
occasion. They did not like this apparent
sitting down upon one nationality. They
regarded it as species of oppression that
should not be tolerated in Sacramento.
One lady said the Poundmaster's time was
dividedSbetween Schell's brewery, where
he sampled the decoction of hops, and his
" shanty' where he caressed bull pups"
which he imported from Ireland for his
edification. After listening to the evidence
on both sides, the Mayor read the Pound
master a lecture on political economy, the
rights of citizenship and the necessity of
his administering the duties of his Office
with wise and impartial judicial hand.
The following was read, adopted and or
dered telegraphed 10 the Traffic Managers
Association, which meets on Wednesday at